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Season Ticket: A Baseball Companion
Offering a unique perspective on the ins and out of baseball, the author examines in detail the job of the catcher, pitchers' strategies, and the intricate play of infielders, discussing the best players of the past five seasons and their greatest moments
406 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1988
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406 people want to read
About the author
Roger Angell
55 books115 followersRoger Angell (b. 1920) is a celebrated New Yorker writer and editor. First published in the magazine in 1944, he became a fiction editor and regular contributor in 1956; and remains as a senior editor and staff writer. In addition to seven classic books on baseball, which include The Summer Game (1972), Five Seasons (1977), and Season Ticket (1988), he has written works of fiction, humor, and a memoir, Let Me Finish (2006).
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 31 reviews
June 11, 2022
After learning of Roger Angell's recent passing, I wanted to make sure that I read every one of his baseball books and this was the first one I chose since then. Like his other books that are collections of essays in chronological order, "The Summer Game" and "Five Seasons", this one shows Angell's brilliance in his baseball knowledge and fandom, especially the Mets and Red Sox. That made the chapter on the 1986 postseason, including that season's World Series between these two teams, a great way to relive that excellent time in baseball history.
Of course, his writing, especially his use of imagery and similes, is a joy to consume as well. I found myself laughing, smiling and even feeling a little melancholy depending on the mood he was trying to portray. The baseball world lost a true legend with Angell's passing and this book is just one illustration of why he's among the very best.
Of course, his writing, especially his use of imagery and similes, is a joy to consume as well. I found myself laughing, smiling and even feeling a little melancholy depending on the mood he was trying to portray. The baseball world lost a true legend with Angell's passing and this book is just one illustration of why he's among the very best.
January 27, 2024
Like many reviewers on goodreads, I've been reading one of Angell's collections each spring (more or less). This one (1982-1987) was better than the previous one - but part of that might be my personal recollection of that time.
The author does have a lot to deal with - the aftermath of free agency is rising salaries, and the initial scare of "drugs" is starting to play itself out. Still in the future are steroids. Angell has all this and more, sensing a changing of the guard as many older players retire and the current crop doesn't look as long lived. Exception - Earl Weaver in 1982 said about rookie Cal Ripken "Wherever he plays you can pencil him in everyday for the next fifteen years, that’s how good he is."
Rambling speculations about future players are toned down considerably. Angell focuses on interviewing pitchers and fielders during spring training about their craft, and these are a lot of fun to read.
This is the last of the author's five year collections. His next published volume Once More Around the Park: A Baseball Reader has excerpts from these volumes and some original works, but isn't a complete new experience. Looking forward to that in spring of 2025!
The author does have a lot to deal with - the aftermath of free agency is rising salaries, and the initial scare of "drugs" is starting to play itself out. Still in the future are steroids. Angell has all this and more, sensing a changing of the guard as many older players retire and the current crop doesn't look as long lived. Exception - Earl Weaver in 1982 said about rookie Cal Ripken "Wherever he plays you can pencil him in everyday for the next fifteen years, that’s how good he is."
Rambling speculations about future players are toned down considerably. Angell focuses on interviewing pitchers and fielders during spring training about their craft, and these are a lot of fun to read.
This is the last of the author's five year collections. His next published volume Once More Around the Park: A Baseball Reader has excerpts from these volumes and some original works, but isn't a complete new experience. Looking forward to that in spring of 2025!
April 19, 2019
Each of the last three years I have read one of Roger Angell’s book during Spring Training. It is an exercise in nostalgia both from the content as well as the fact that I read these books going on forty years ago as well.
This book, the most recent of the series, was the least succesful in my opinion. This is primarily because in this collection the author devotes several chapters to discussions with various players, infielders, catchers, pitchers, and the art, seen and unseen, of their craft. For me, this became a little tedious.
I did find it quite interesting that as Angell writes in the eighties he centers performance on statistics that now are considered to be much less important. Advising that a pitcher had a bad season due to a won-loss record when his ERA remained in the sub 3 zone, for example.
There are some very interesting highlights just the same. In a conversation with the great Earl Weaver late in the 1982 season Weaver comments on the rookie Cal Ripken “ Wherever he plays you can pencil him in everyday for the next fifteen years, that’s how good he is.” It seems even Earl was more prescient than he knew.
He writes of a spring training game where Bob Brenly playing third for the Giants made four errors but later hit two homeruns and then ended the game in extra innings with a game winning hit. A couple things come to mind. A player played a full game in spring training ? And to show that baseball players never go away just this week Brenly made news as a commentator on a broadcaster ridiculing the heavy chain wore by a young player as he ran the bases, thus drawing racial insensitivity accusations.
The author writes of his disorientation in seeing Tom Seaver on the mound for the Chicago White Sox, complicated even more so when he is joined in the mound at conference with Carlton Fisk. This was especially bittersweet to read about this spring when, virtually at the same time, we were reading of an announcement by the family of Seaver that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sad beyond belief. Later, in the section about the 86 World Series he reminds us that Seaver’s knee injury kept him out of the 86 World Series. Would he have made a difference? Who knows. The spectacled him pitching in Shea, against the Mets in the World Series would have been something indeed.
One thing made apparent, that I admit I had forgotten is the absolute dominance of Dwight Gooden in 1984 and 1985. When one considers he was 19 in 1984 it is just remarkable. Of course, now, the innings he threw at that age would never be allowed. Did that contribute to the quick lessening of his ability. It’s hard to say, cocaine had a great play to part as well.
Another name that appears frequently is Willie McGee. In the mid eighties he was simply magnificent. He was for a short time what Rickey Henderson was for a great length of time and won an MVP to show it.
A conversation with Earl Weaver after a game leads to a description of Weaver demonstrating in his office, stark naked, how best to position oneself and handle an infield grounder. One would imagine this is a sight forever inscribed on the retinas of one who saw it, like a mushroom cloud would do to a survivor of a similarly awful sight.
Wade Boggs dominated the mid eighties. In 1985 in over 650 at bats he popped out to the infield twice. Amazing. Still, even this week, a similar story, showing the continuity of baseball, when Joey Votto popped up to the first baseman for the FIRST time in his career as a major leaguer.
The 1986 playoffs are dealt with, and while the final result was painful, it is the memory of the division championships that the pain of. Red Sox fan is mitigated. Well, that and the four recent World Series victories. I remember 1986, it was, that night of Game Six, one of the happiest, and then quickly, one of the saddest events in my sports lifetime. Writing of the Series so many things forgotten and some remembered are revisited, Clemens being taken out, Schiraldi, Schiraldi, Schiraldi, even Dave Stapleton not being at first base in the critical Bill Buckner moment.
But it is in the writing about the two previous series that this book really excels. The Mets, Astros series was exquisite. The author describes his day of watching the that sixteen inning nightmare, delaying his exit from the television to go to Fenway. I remember that day. Billy Hatcher hitting one off the foul pole to keep the madness going. When Angell writes of the joy in the streets of New York upon the final victory his description of the people outside, huddled around radios, brings to mind scenes of the end of a war or even worse, tragic events. A oneness rarely experienced.
Describing the Sox/Angels series I relived that Game 5 in California. I remember that day as clear as a bell. It was simply amazing. Still when Angell reminds us of the veterans on that team denied, Decinces, Bob Boone, Bobby Grich (who would retire after the season and should be in the Hall ) and of course Reggie one feels for them. And Gene March, a baseball lifer, denied again and having to think about Mike Witt for the rest of his life. And, for .red ?Sox fans this victory became the roadmap as they in just two weeks remembered what they had done to the Angels.
And, not in the book, but reality strikes the memory in what became of Donnie Moore, the Angels reliever years later, sunk into drugs and eventually a self inflicted death. Baseball is as cruel as life
Roger Angell is and was a baseball treasure.
This book, the most recent of the series, was the least succesful in my opinion. This is primarily because in this collection the author devotes several chapters to discussions with various players, infielders, catchers, pitchers, and the art, seen and unseen, of their craft. For me, this became a little tedious.
I did find it quite interesting that as Angell writes in the eighties he centers performance on statistics that now are considered to be much less important. Advising that a pitcher had a bad season due to a won-loss record when his ERA remained in the sub 3 zone, for example.
There are some very interesting highlights just the same. In a conversation with the great Earl Weaver late in the 1982 season Weaver comments on the rookie Cal Ripken “ Wherever he plays you can pencil him in everyday for the next fifteen years, that’s how good he is.” It seems even Earl was more prescient than he knew.
He writes of a spring training game where Bob Brenly playing third for the Giants made four errors but later hit two homeruns and then ended the game in extra innings with a game winning hit. A couple things come to mind. A player played a full game in spring training ? And to show that baseball players never go away just this week Brenly made news as a commentator on a broadcaster ridiculing the heavy chain wore by a young player as he ran the bases, thus drawing racial insensitivity accusations.
The author writes of his disorientation in seeing Tom Seaver on the mound for the Chicago White Sox, complicated even more so when he is joined in the mound at conference with Carlton Fisk. This was especially bittersweet to read about this spring when, virtually at the same time, we were reading of an announcement by the family of Seaver that he had been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s. Sad beyond belief. Later, in the section about the 86 World Series he reminds us that Seaver’s knee injury kept him out of the 86 World Series. Would he have made a difference? Who knows. The spectacled him pitching in Shea, against the Mets in the World Series would have been something indeed.
One thing made apparent, that I admit I had forgotten is the absolute dominance of Dwight Gooden in 1984 and 1985. When one considers he was 19 in 1984 it is just remarkable. Of course, now, the innings he threw at that age would never be allowed. Did that contribute to the quick lessening of his ability. It’s hard to say, cocaine had a great play to part as well.
Another name that appears frequently is Willie McGee. In the mid eighties he was simply magnificent. He was for a short time what Rickey Henderson was for a great length of time and won an MVP to show it.
A conversation with Earl Weaver after a game leads to a description of Weaver demonstrating in his office, stark naked, how best to position oneself and handle an infield grounder. One would imagine this is a sight forever inscribed on the retinas of one who saw it, like a mushroom cloud would do to a survivor of a similarly awful sight.
Wade Boggs dominated the mid eighties. In 1985 in over 650 at bats he popped out to the infield twice. Amazing. Still, even this week, a similar story, showing the continuity of baseball, when Joey Votto popped up to the first baseman for the FIRST time in his career as a major leaguer.
The 1986 playoffs are dealt with, and while the final result was painful, it is the memory of the division championships that the pain of. Red Sox fan is mitigated. Well, that and the four recent World Series victories. I remember 1986, it was, that night of Game Six, one of the happiest, and then quickly, one of the saddest events in my sports lifetime. Writing of the Series so many things forgotten and some remembered are revisited, Clemens being taken out, Schiraldi, Schiraldi, Schiraldi, even Dave Stapleton not being at first base in the critical Bill Buckner moment.
But it is in the writing about the two previous series that this book really excels. The Mets, Astros series was exquisite. The author describes his day of watching the that sixteen inning nightmare, delaying his exit from the television to go to Fenway. I remember that day. Billy Hatcher hitting one off the foul pole to keep the madness going. When Angell writes of the joy in the streets of New York upon the final victory his description of the people outside, huddled around radios, brings to mind scenes of the end of a war or even worse, tragic events. A oneness rarely experienced.
Describing the Sox/Angels series I relived that Game 5 in California. I remember that day as clear as a bell. It was simply amazing. Still when Angell reminds us of the veterans on that team denied, Decinces, Bob Boone, Bobby Grich (who would retire after the season and should be in the Hall ) and of course Reggie one feels for them. And Gene March, a baseball lifer, denied again and having to think about Mike Witt for the rest of his life. And, for .red ?Sox fans this victory became the roadmap as they in just two weeks remembered what they had done to the Angels.
And, not in the book, but reality strikes the memory in what became of Donnie Moore, the Angels reliever years later, sunk into drugs and eventually a self inflicted death. Baseball is as cruel as life
Roger Angell is and was a baseball treasure.
November 23, 2021
Another fine baseball book by America's best sportswriter. It covers the seasons 1982 through 1987. Prominent in the book is Sparky Anderson's Detroit Tigers and the catastrophic 1986 World Series and the birth of the Curse of the Bambino. A very good read, but I liked his other books better. Maybe 1986 was too painful?
May 16, 2023
Summary: A collection of essays covering the 1982 to 1987 seasons, from spring training to the drama of the championships, and all the skills of players and managers and owners required to compete at the major league level.
“Don’t you know how hard this all is?”
TED WILLIAMS, ON BATTING IN PARTICULAR AND BASEBALL IN GENERAL
If there is a theme to this installment of Roger Angell’s articles on baseball, it is the conversations Angell has with different players and even an owner, all that illustrate what a challenge it is to do every aspect of Major League Baseball well. A number of the essays recount the answers of players and coaches to the question of “How do you do what you do?” What does it take to catch well for example. The biggest part is working with pitchers, yet the all stars are always the ones who hit. They may not be the best at their work with pitchers. We learn how a catcher must in a single motion catch, stand, and throw to have any hope of catching a base-stealing runner.
He takes us through the infield and the particular demands of each position. We learn what a mental game playing first base is. So much at every position is positioning for each batter, knowing your pitcher. He spends a good deal of his time with Dave Concepcion, a short stop star of the ’80s, learning about how he learned to make the long throw on a hop to first base on artificial turf because it was actually faster.
Included is an article on Dan Quisenberrry, a submarine ball relief pitcher for the Royals. We catch him at his peak in 1985 when he was nearly unhittable. We learn about everything from how he learned the motion, which is actually far easier on the pitching arm than throwing overhand to the aggressive mindset of relief pitchers. We learn about his repertoire of pitches and the attitude of flexibility of being prepared to pitch in any game that comes with relief pitching. In later articles, we also see Quisenberry’s decline, particularly after Dick Howser stepped down. The chemistry was never the same.
And then, of course, there is hitting and all the little things that go into hitting well, and as one of the best, Ted Williams says, how hard it is. We learn that basically batters want to hit a fastball. We get all the little nuances of bat weight, stance, grip on the bat, and swing, and how easy it is to get out of the groove.
Then there are the players. In this period he covers the last game of Carl Yastrzemski, the great Boston player, Jim Kaat, after a twenty year career as a pitcher, and Johnny Bench, all who played their last in 1983. We have the account of Pete Rose’s 4192nd hit, surpassing Ty Cobb, and the comparison showing how superior Cobb’s accomplishment was in far less games at a higher batting average. Rose just kept playing. Then there are the young pitchers of the era, Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen in particularly.
As always, Angell seems at his best in recounting championships, in this case in particular, the 1986 Red Sox-Mets World Series and particularly the disappointing Red Sox loss that turned the tide in the fifth game. Then there is the amazing 1984 Tigers team with all their hitting, power, and speed, which finally buried the Padres.
Angell covers the rise of drug use among players, the advent of drug testing, and some of the great players who got ensnared in cocaine use. The sad thing was that apart from a few teams, the emphasis seemed less on rehabilitation and more on “gotcha.” He writes about all the pressures and temptations that came with the big money of this era.
The book ends at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown during a Hall of Fame induction. By the time Angell was done, I found myself mentally adding Cooperstown to my bucket list. He writes, “The artifacts and exhibits in the Hall remind us, vividly and with feeling, of our hopes for bygone seasons and players. Memories are jogged, even jolted; colors become brighter, and we laugh or sigh, remembering the good times gone by.”
Angell captures the fleeting wonder of the game and how amazing the players who perform at a high level for ten years or more. It is indeed hard to do so well, and hard on bodies, especially as they age. The arc from spring to autumn, both of seasons and careers in some way is a parable of the fleeting nature of our lives, as well as the glory of our existence.
“Don’t you know how hard this all is?”
TED WILLIAMS, ON BATTING IN PARTICULAR AND BASEBALL IN GENERAL
If there is a theme to this installment of Roger Angell’s articles on baseball, it is the conversations Angell has with different players and even an owner, all that illustrate what a challenge it is to do every aspect of Major League Baseball well. A number of the essays recount the answers of players and coaches to the question of “How do you do what you do?” What does it take to catch well for example. The biggest part is working with pitchers, yet the all stars are always the ones who hit. They may not be the best at their work with pitchers. We learn how a catcher must in a single motion catch, stand, and throw to have any hope of catching a base-stealing runner.
He takes us through the infield and the particular demands of each position. We learn what a mental game playing first base is. So much at every position is positioning for each batter, knowing your pitcher. He spends a good deal of his time with Dave Concepcion, a short stop star of the ’80s, learning about how he learned to make the long throw on a hop to first base on artificial turf because it was actually faster.
Included is an article on Dan Quisenberrry, a submarine ball relief pitcher for the Royals. We catch him at his peak in 1985 when he was nearly unhittable. We learn about everything from how he learned the motion, which is actually far easier on the pitching arm than throwing overhand to the aggressive mindset of relief pitchers. We learn about his repertoire of pitches and the attitude of flexibility of being prepared to pitch in any game that comes with relief pitching. In later articles, we also see Quisenberry’s decline, particularly after Dick Howser stepped down. The chemistry was never the same.
And then, of course, there is hitting and all the little things that go into hitting well, and as one of the best, Ted Williams says, how hard it is. We learn that basically batters want to hit a fastball. We get all the little nuances of bat weight, stance, grip on the bat, and swing, and how easy it is to get out of the groove.
Then there are the players. In this period he covers the last game of Carl Yastrzemski, the great Boston player, Jim Kaat, after a twenty year career as a pitcher, and Johnny Bench, all who played their last in 1983. We have the account of Pete Rose’s 4192nd hit, surpassing Ty Cobb, and the comparison showing how superior Cobb’s accomplishment was in far less games at a higher batting average. Rose just kept playing. Then there are the young pitchers of the era, Dwight Gooden and Bret Saberhagen in particularly.
As always, Angell seems at his best in recounting championships, in this case in particular, the 1986 Red Sox-Mets World Series and particularly the disappointing Red Sox loss that turned the tide in the fifth game. Then there is the amazing 1984 Tigers team with all their hitting, power, and speed, which finally buried the Padres.
Angell covers the rise of drug use among players, the advent of drug testing, and some of the great players who got ensnared in cocaine use. The sad thing was that apart from a few teams, the emphasis seemed less on rehabilitation and more on “gotcha.” He writes about all the pressures and temptations that came with the big money of this era.
The book ends at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown during a Hall of Fame induction. By the time Angell was done, I found myself mentally adding Cooperstown to my bucket list. He writes, “The artifacts and exhibits in the Hall remind us, vividly and with feeling, of our hopes for bygone seasons and players. Memories are jogged, even jolted; colors become brighter, and we laugh or sigh, remembering the good times gone by.”
Angell captures the fleeting wonder of the game and how amazing the players who perform at a high level for ten years or more. It is indeed hard to do so well, and hard on bodies, especially as they age. The arc from spring to autumn, both of seasons and careers in some way is a parable of the fleeting nature of our lives, as well as the glory of our existence.
May 16, 2020
Era of what could have been
This marked the third book by Roger Angell that I have finished recently, following Season Ticket and Five Season. I had these three volumes on my Kindle and thought that I was done with the chronological sequence that began with The Summer Game covering them seasons beginning in 1962; followed by Five Seasons (1972-1976). It was not until I finished this third book covering 1982 to the summer of 1987 that I realized that five years were missing, 1977-1981, which are covered in Late Innings which for some reason is not available on Kindle but luckily I have in paperback and will be starting soon.
As for this current book, I found Angell less enthusiastic about the game. Whereas he was clearly enthralled with Willie Mays in the first volume and the Mets in both, I found Angell spending much of his focus on spring training and a few teams and individuals. The author gets repetitive at times; he made it abundantly clear that he is a fan first of the Mets and Red Sox. His writing also changed from the two earlier volumes. Almost totally gone are the vast array of literary and mythological allusions. He does drop in vocabulary that forced me to click on the dictionary function.
In the end, this was an era of what could have been. No character typified these years more than Dwight Gooden, who began as a phenom headed for the Hall of Fame and ended in drug rehab that as we know diminished what could have been an all-time great career.
This marked the third book by Roger Angell that I have finished recently, following Season Ticket and Five Season. I had these three volumes on my Kindle and thought that I was done with the chronological sequence that began with The Summer Game covering them seasons beginning in 1962; followed by Five Seasons (1972-1976). It was not until I finished this third book covering 1982 to the summer of 1987 that I realized that five years were missing, 1977-1981, which are covered in Late Innings which for some reason is not available on Kindle but luckily I have in paperback and will be starting soon.
As for this current book, I found Angell less enthusiastic about the game. Whereas he was clearly enthralled with Willie Mays in the first volume and the Mets in both, I found Angell spending much of his focus on spring training and a few teams and individuals. The author gets repetitive at times; he made it abundantly clear that he is a fan first of the Mets and Red Sox. His writing also changed from the two earlier volumes. Almost totally gone are the vast array of literary and mythological allusions. He does drop in vocabulary that forced me to click on the dictionary function.
In the end, this was an era of what could have been. No character typified these years more than Dwight Gooden, who began as a phenom headed for the Hall of Fame and ended in drug rehab that as we know diminished what could have been an all-time great career.
April 3, 2018
I'd never read anything by Angell before, and this book, published in 1988, is concerned primarily with seasons in the 80s when I really did not pay attention to sports. I'm glad this book found me, though, as Angell writes beautifully about the sport, about the ways it is played, about the unexpected moments of never-before-seen events, about the routine, about the specifics of positions, about the ways players go about their business, and about the way the game is always changing. His viewpoint of the 1985 World Series is somewhat different than that of all the Cardinals fans still furious at Don Denkinger. His tales of the 1986 playoffs and World Series, which led to his two favorite teams playing against each other, are thrilling and emotional. He is firmly convinced Pete Rose will be in the Hall of Fame. He asks, in the middle of 1987, the last piece written for the book, what might become of this young rookie with 22 home runs by the All Star Break, Mark McGwire. I'm more intrigued by baseball than ever because of this book, especially because he points out there is no way to ever learn everything about it.
February 1, 2022
For the past four years, as I’ve endured the winter—the only season without baseball in North America—I’ve found solace in the masterful writing of Roger Angell, surely the greatest baseball scribe who has ever lived. Perhaps I am biased because (like me) he is a fan of the New York Mets, but even if he weren’t, I would still admire his knowledge of the game, his appreciation for its history, his honest insights and criticism, and his incredible ability to capture the magic and the mystery that define the sport.
This collection of essays covers the seasons from 1983-1987 and tracks the evolution of the game during those years, however quaint those changes might seem now, nearly forty years later. My favorite, of course, is the essay titled “Not So, Boston” (a clever palindrome), which chronicles the enchanted 1986 season and post-season when the Mets triumphed over the Red Sox.
If you are a fan of baseball and its rich history and you have not yet discovered the joy of reading Roger Angell, please be kind to yourself and devour as much of his art as you can before spring training begins.
This collection of essays covers the seasons from 1983-1987 and tracks the evolution of the game during those years, however quaint those changes might seem now, nearly forty years later. My favorite, of course, is the essay titled “Not So, Boston” (a clever palindrome), which chronicles the enchanted 1986 season and post-season when the Mets triumphed over the Red Sox.
If you are a fan of baseball and its rich history and you have not yet discovered the joy of reading Roger Angell, please be kind to yourself and devour as much of his art as you can before spring training begins.
September 24, 2019
This collection of New Yorkeressays covers 1984-1987, for me prime baseball fan years. I had lost contact with the sport while at college, slowly regaining my connection in 1980. As a result, this was a leisurely, thorough walk down memory lane for me.
Angell is one of the most poetic writers about the sport, with a fan's enthusiasm and critic's eye. He shares his attention pretty equally between AL and NL, younger players and veterans alike. The game itself fascinates him as he delves deeper in the mechanics of pitching or the struggles of managing.
He doesn't have the daily deadline to worry about so can be more thoughtful and analytic, exploring what worked and what didn't season after season. It was a real treat to read about the upcoming players who are now respected veterans or the vets rior to their enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for reminding me of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 1980s, from the go-go Mets of '86 to the hardluck Angels. If you enjoy good baseball writing, this or any other Angell book is recommended.
Angell is one of the most poetic writers about the sport, with a fan's enthusiasm and critic's eye. He shares his attention pretty equally between AL and NL, younger players and veterans alike. The game itself fascinates him as he delves deeper in the mechanics of pitching or the struggles of managing.
He doesn't have the daily deadline to worry about so can be more thoughtful and analytic, exploring what worked and what didn't season after season. It was a real treat to read about the upcoming players who are now respected veterans or the vets rior to their enshrinement in the Hall of Fame.
I thoroughly enjoyed this book for reminding me of the good, the bad, and the ugly of the 1980s, from the go-go Mets of '86 to the hardluck Angels. If you enjoy good baseball writing, this or any other Angell book is recommended.
March 1, 2023
Interesting stroll down baseball memory lane with this series of essays covering the early to mid 1980s. Some of what Angell writes is insightful, some almost cringing fan-boi love letters and yet some downright fatuous. In one section, he dismisses outright any notion that Doc Gooden could have fallen prey to cocaine after going on for page after page about the Pittsburgh drug trials and observing how rich young men were prone to such things. Still, not a bad read from a time when prominent sportswriters were actually fans of the sports they wrote about.
June 23, 2024
A tough one to grade but I decided to go with a four star rating as I realized that Roger Angell was not a baseball writer but rather a baseball fan who writes. Given that knowledge, I was more sympathetic to some of his views than I would have been if he was a baseball writer. A good book for fans of the game although some of his observations suffer from the length of time elapsed since they were made. But that is great thing about being a fan.
February 5, 2023
I found this book in a box in the attic. It was an unread BOMC (Book of the Month Club) selection from the 80s. Angell is such a great writer as New Yorker staffers usually are. It brought me joy of baseball talks with my mom and brothers reliving all of the stories from the 70s and 80s. I will definitely seek out his other books.
September 17, 2024
Really enjoyed this one. Angell’s essays were from a time that my attention to baseball waxed and waned (or maybe waned and then waxed). It included the ’86 playoffs and world series, which provided more than its share of thrills for us fans. Some of the observations in there can feel dated, as they will once the subjects have lived or died. But even then, understanding the specific time context was interesting - e.g. players who might have been great, but who ultimately struggled. If this weren’t enough, Angell is a wonderful, very lyrical writer. -making this worthwhile on its own.
August 20, 2021
Angell is always delightful and it is always heartwarming for him to power up the typewriter and give his baseball rundown. But this book, covering 1982-1987, goes on and on. The gems here— and there are many — get buried.
August 19, 2023
A spirited collection of “New Yorker” essays on American baseball by the celebrated, lyrical sportswriter, Roger Angell … covering the mid-1980’s, the book salutes the players of the game and their dedicated fans … delightful …
July 15, 2021
Holds up pretty good well but is also a good time warp to the mid-80s. Roger Angell still going strong at age 100.
June 7, 2025
Lovely beautiful captivating as always. Angell will never not be perfect summer reading. 'Not So, Boston' was probably my favorite chapter.
August 20, 2025
Some fantastic writing in here. The articles on catchers, the 86 World Series, and the Hall of Fame were highlights.
September 28, 2023
Not quite as good as Five Seasons, but wow can Angell capture the spirit of the game and of being a fan.
November 10, 2015
I just found out tht every Roger Angell baseball book is out of print. Why??? After reading this gem I am now also in the opinion that Angell is one of the best baseball writers ever.
This book is about him covering baseball from 1983 through 1987, which just happens to be some of the years (1985-1986) that I first began to love Major League baseball. Some of the players that Angell talks to to in this book I hadn't heard about in years, some of them over a decade. Season Ticket really brought me back to my youth, when I collected baseball cards. Back then some of the names on the baseball cards were just names. Now I have a story about them to go with those cards. My favorites were stories on John Cerutti and Ron Guidry, Dan Quisenberry, Keith Hernandez, Bob Boone and Tom Seaver. It was also nice to get to know more about the 1985 World Series, which I haven't read about too much.
The only problem, and it wasn't that bad, was some of the topics were discussed twice. I'm also sick of reading about baseball players and drugs and there was a chapter dedicated to the players that used cocaine around 1984. If I could give a half a star it would probably be four and a half stars. Five if I had read it during the baseball season.
This book is about him covering baseball from 1983 through 1987, which just happens to be some of the years (1985-1986) that I first began to love Major League baseball. Some of the players that Angell talks to to in this book I hadn't heard about in years, some of them over a decade. Season Ticket really brought me back to my youth, when I collected baseball cards. Back then some of the names on the baseball cards were just names. Now I have a story about them to go with those cards. My favorites were stories on John Cerutti and Ron Guidry, Dan Quisenberry, Keith Hernandez, Bob Boone and Tom Seaver. It was also nice to get to know more about the 1985 World Series, which I haven't read about too much.
The only problem, and it wasn't that bad, was some of the topics were discussed twice. I'm also sick of reading about baseball players and drugs and there was a chapter dedicated to the players that used cocaine around 1984. If I could give a half a star it would probably be four and a half stars. Five if I had read it during the baseball season.
September 10, 2014
A wonderful book from one of the best American writers. This covers a time when I was living in a baseball city and was more of a baseball fan than I am now, so the names and even some games are clear memories for me. But Angell could be writing about anything; politics, quantitative easing, the farm report or sex workers in Bangkok and it would be a pleasure to read. His season wraps in the New Yorker have always been a treat, and his takes on steroids and asterisks in general are always clear-eyed and more instructive than sports jock rants could ever aspire to be. I love this guy.
March 9, 2013
Enjoyable read about baseball in the mid-1980s. Interesting perspectives, with various chapters focusing on different aspects of the game or teams or individuals. A collection of writings, the thread running through the book is the time-frame, ostensibly one season. But it goes beyond one season and I'm glad it did. The spring training focus was enjoyable, as was the ending chapter on the Hall of Fame. Its non-reportorial style enhanced the enjoyment.
March 2, 2013
Very interesting baseball book of compilation of interviews of numerous ballplayers just after the drug scandals of the late 70s and right before the steroids age. Author marvels over such people as McGuire and Canseco, unbeknowst to everybody that these players were powered by 'roids. Also, great pourview of Cooperstown HOF induction during that summer (1987) when Catfish Hunter, Billy Williams and Negor league Ray Dandridge were inducted.
June 14, 2007
If you like baseball the fifth star is a no brainer. Even if you're not, the loveliness and pacing of the language is appealing in its own right. And of course he is a Mets fan so it's not like I'm biased or anything... I like to think he's not simply the greatest writer about baseball, but a great writer genre be damned. Your mileage may vary however.
July 21, 2008
As fan's views of baseball go, this is one of the most pleasant reads of my young life. Though dated, Angell wrote Season Ticket in 1988, most of the names in the book were familiar to me from my earliest years as a baseball fan. His treatment of the 1986 World Series (the second-to-last chapter) in which his 2 favorite teams squared off is simply poetic.
June 4, 2015
Another great meditation on baseball. A mix between deeply researched and interviewed chapters examining what it means to be a great position player (catcher, infielder), and long odes to the peculiarities of midseason games, and playing on winning and losing teams.
Angell can capture a scene and a mood like no other.
Eventually I'll make my way through all of these. Just so, so good.
Angell can capture a scene and a mood like no other.
Eventually I'll make my way through all of these. Just so, so good.
November 27, 2007
Pure baseball joy.
August 10, 2016
I don't like baseball. At all. This is a 30ish year old book about baseball. It is FANTASTIC. Roger Angell is an amazing writer with enough passion about baseball to turn anyone into a fan.
October 12, 2014
A snapshot of baseball in the mid eighties at the start of the steroid era. Roger Angell is probably the best writer in the history of the game as well as being one of the greatest fans ever.
November 22, 2014
A follow up to his Five Seasons. Similar, but not as compelling. Still an excellent read and a must for long time baseball fans.
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